by Tina Duncan
Shara should have been pleased, but she wasn’t.
Instead, she felt strangely disappointed. She also felt uncomfortable. She vacillated between wanting to apologise to him and then berating herself for feeling sorry for him.
It went on like that for two days.
By the end of the second day Shara had had enough.
She flung the magazine she’d been trying to read without any success down on to the sofa beside her and stomped into the kitchen, where Royce worked on his laptop and mobile phone every day.
‘OK. Do you want me to apologise?’ she demanded, stopping just inside the kitchen door and jamming her hands down on her hips.
Royce looked up slowly from his laptop and leaned back in his chair.
He really was the most handsome man. Every time she looked at him he took her breath away.
‘Apologise for what?’
‘For calling you the hired help,’ she said.
Royce shrugged. ‘That’s entirely up to you.’
‘But you don’t care one way or another?’
‘No. I don’t.’
Shara stared at him. ‘Well, whether you care or not, I’m sorry. I should never have made the comment. It was wrong. I lashed out without thinking.’
Having said what she’d come to say, she turned to leave. She was at the door when he said her name quietly behind her.
Slowly she turned to face him. ‘What?’
‘Thank you for the apology.’
She inclined her head. ‘You’re welcome. As I said, I should never have made the remark in the first place. As my old nanny used to say, “We all have to put our undies on the same way.”’
Royce stared at her, then flung his head back and burst out laughing. When he finally calmed down he asked, ‘Your old nanny said that?’
Shara could hardly speak. Royce looked twice as handsome as he usually did when he laughed like that. ‘She did. She was a blunt and down-to-earth woman. It was her way of teaching me that everyone is equal.’
Royce nodded. ‘So that’s where you get it from.’
Shara frowned. ‘Get what from?’
‘Your frankness. If you haven’t noticed, you’re pretty direct yourself.’
Shara shrugged. ‘Mrs P was with me for six years. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of her attitude rubbed off on me.’
When Royce didn’t say anything else Shara turned to leave again. This time she didn’t even reach the door before Royce stopped her.
‘Before you go, there’s something we need to discuss.’
Again she turned slowly, and again her heart went berserk.
‘What is it?’ she asked, sounding so breathless she was barely able to recognise her own voice.
‘We have a court date for the AVO.’
The air hissed from her lungs. For a minute—just one—she’d thought Royce was going to discuss their kiss with her. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that he hadn’t.
‘When?’ she asked.
‘Two weeks today.’
Shara absorbed the information. She’d expected the news to make her feel anxious, but it didn’t. She was a little nervous, which was perfectly understandable, but that was about it. ‘OK.’
‘I think that will send a clear message to Brady. Hopefully he’ll back off.’
That could well be the beginning of the end.
She greeted the thought with mixed feelings.
Obviously she was ecstatic at the thought of bringing Steve’s campaign of terror to an end. But it also meant that Royce would walk out of her life.
That was a good thing, she assured herself.
So why then was there a distinct pang in the middle of her chest?
‘Let’s hope so.’ She hesitated in the doorway. Waved a hand at the files and laptop. ‘Do you have time for another karate lesson? Or are you too busy?’
Royce stared at her.
Shara laughed and waved another hand through the air. ‘Forget it. It’s a bad idea. I shouldn’t have said anything. I need a break, that’s all. I’ll read a book or something.’
‘How are the donations going for the ball?’
‘I’ve called all the companies who donated something last year. I’ve left messages for some of them, but almost everyone I’ve spoken to is going to donate again.’
Royce whistled through his teeth. ‘That must have taken some doing.’
She smiled. ‘I had to twist an arm or two, but most of them were happy to help out.’ She waved another hand. ‘I’ll get out of your hair now.’
Royce didn’t respond. He just kept on staring at her with chocolate-brown eyes.
She didn’t need to explain why a karate session was a bad idea. After the kiss they’d shared in the lift they both knew that they’d be inviting disaster.
She turned to leave for a third time. Had actually taken two steps into the hallway when he said her name again.
‘What?’ she asked over her shoulder.
‘I could do with a break too,’ he said slowly. ‘Go and get changed. We’ll meet in the lounge room in five minutes.’
‘What are you doing?’ Royce muttered to himself under his breath as he walked into the lounge room at the allotted time.
This was foolhardy at best, and at worst complete insanity.
Shara was waiting for him, dressed as she usually was in the almost see-through white cotton pants and a figure-hugging T-shirt that outlined the generous swell of her breasts and enough cleavage to make his body harden.
‘OK. Where do we start?’ she asked.
Royce took a seat on the sofa. ‘I’d like you to demonstrate what you’ve learned so far.’
There was only one way he was going to survive this session, and that was by adopting a hands-free approach.
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s see what you remember.’
Shara got into the first starting position and one by one went through the various blocks, punches and kicks he’d taught her.
Royce tried to concentrate on her technique.
But more and more he found his focus drifting to other things.
Like how serious she looked as she concentrated on doing each movement to the best of her ability. The frown creasing her forehead and the little moue she made with her lips.
And of course the other huge distraction was her body.
Her muscles flexed and released. Her belly contracted. So, too, did her buttocks.
And then there were her breasts. They jiggled ever so slightly with every movement. And every jiggle made his body harden more and more, until he was ready to jump to his feet and—
No!
Don’t even think about it.
If he did he was likely to become undone.
But, try as he might, he couldn’t control where he looked or how he felt.
Shara was almost at the end of her demonstration when the phone rang. Her arms immediately dropped to her sides, her expression growing tense.
Royce clenched his teeth. His patience was growing thin at Brady’s daily dose of terror.
Reaching out, he pulled the plug from the wall socket.
‘Continue,’ he said, waving a hand.
‘You can’t do that.’
‘Of course I can. If it’s important they’ll call you on your mobile.’
What he meant, of course, was that if it was anyone other than Brady they would call her on her mobile.
Shara picked up where she’d left off. When she’d finished, she asked, ‘What next?’
If he had any sense he’d end the session then and there. Instead, he rose to his feet. His heart was pounding. ‘You’re ready to do some very basic sparring. I want you to attack me. Hit, kick, punch. Whatever you like. I’ll block you and make an attacking movement of my own. Then we’ll try it in reverse.’
‘OK.’ Shara aimed a punch at his belly. Royce blocked, dipped, and then aimed an answering punch gently to the side of her head.
This time she k
icked and then punched him. Royce blocked both moves, spun around, and aimed a kick at her knee.
After about ten minutes Royce said, ‘OK, your turn. This time I’m going to attack you. I want you to concentrate on defending yourself.’
Shara raised her hands in defensive mode.
As quick as a flash Royce made a soft chop to the side of her neck. ‘Hey, that was too easy.’
‘I wasn’t ready,’ Shara protested.
Royce moved more slowly this time, aiming a fist at her solar plexus. Shara blocked him with a throw of her left arm, then moved into a punch.
Royce blocked her effortlessly. ‘Well, well, well. You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?’
She grinned. ‘You bet.’
Royce backed off a pace to see what Shara would do.
They danced around on their toes, hands raised in fighting position. Shara aimed a punch towards Royce’s chest. He blocked it with a swing of his left arm.
Royce moved to the left, feinted, quickly put his left foot behind her right ankle and pushed. Surprise and momentum sent Shara tumbling to the floor.
Royce followed her down, pinning her to the rug with his weight.
The feel of her beneath him sent a shimmering wave of heat through his entire body. The cushioning fullness of her breasts and the welcoming dip of her hips sent his blood pressure skyrocketing.
Royce took both of her hands in his and pinned them to the carpet on either side of her head. He’d never thought of karate as foreplay, but that was exactly what it felt like.
Excitement had been building from the moment Shara had suggested the session.
In the last ten minutes it had gone right off the charts.
Breaking point had come and gone in the blink of an eye.
Royce didn’t think twice. He didn’t think at all. He simply bent his head and crushed her mouth with his.
Shara kissed him straight back.
Excitement rushed through him. So potent it made his blood fizz and stretched every inch of his skin.
In an action as ancient as time Royce pressed his erection against her. Shara moaned and tugged her hands free. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers weaving into his hair.
Royce trailed his mouth over the delicate arch of her cheekbone to her earlobe, where he sucked on the sensitive flesh.
Shara’s body moved restlessly beneath his.
From her ear, his mouth moved lower, trailing a path of liquid fire down her throat. He paused at its base, his tongue flicking against her frantically beating pulse, before moving lower still.
He buried his face between her breasts and inhaled her scent. It circulated in his bloodstream like heady wine.
‘Yes,’ Shara muttered, her hands clutching at his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh.
Royce ran his hands over her bone-melting curves, undecided on which part to linger, trying to enjoy each delectable inch of her all at once.
He raised his head and stared down at her.
Her eyelids lifted slowly, as if they were heavy. The fire he saw in her eyes echoed deep inside of him.
‘You’re wearing too many clothes,’ he said, in a voice he hardly recognised as his own.
Shara nodded, as if she were incapable of speech.
With the aid of her wriggling, Royce pulled her T-shirt up over her head. He stared down at what he’d revealed: ripe breasts spilling out of the cups of her bra.
His loins kicked, and then kicked again even harder.
His blood pulsed so strongly he could feel it beating against the underside of his skin.
‘Do you know how long I’ve wanted to see you like this?’ he asked, the question dragged from deep inside him.
Shara shook her head.
‘For ever,’ he whispered.
It was the most incongruous answer. It didn’t make sense. And yet on a primitive level, where DNA met energy and created life, it was true. True in a way that he couldn’t even begin to understand.
Sliding a hand beneath her back, he unfastened her bra and slowly stripped it away.
His breath caught in the back of his throat
Slowly he raised his hands. For several moments they hovered in the air, and then he cupped a breast in each hand. As he’d thought more than once, she fitted him perfectly. As if she’d been made just for him. The pads of his thumbs rubbed across her nipples, which immediately sprang erect.
Shara moaned and arched her back, pressing against him.
He played with her breasts for a few more moments before dropping his head and drawing one hard bead into his mouth, rolling it with his tongue.
Shara thrashed her head from side to side, a keening cry that sounded half-pleasure, half-protest coming from the back of her throat.
And then she moved.
Her clutching hands left his shoulders and ran down over the hard planes of his back, exploring as she went. She tugged on the hem of his T-shirt. Lifting his head, Royce helped strip it away.
His hands immediately went to the waistband of her white trousers. He didn’t linger over their removal. He was too aroused to take things slowly.
His pants quickly followed.
When one of her hands insinuated itself between their tightly pressed bodies Royce knew exactly what was coming. Still, nothing could prepare him for the first delicate touch of her fingers on his erection.
When her hand closed around him, Royce froze. So much pulsating energy rushed to where she touched that he shuddered. When her hand moved he shuddered again.
‘Enough,’ he growled, barely able to get the word out as he clasped her wrist and pulled her hand away from him.
He was so aroused he was shaking.
A line from an old tune popped into his head.
There’s a fine line between pleasure and pain.
He was on the border of that line right now.
He’d never visited this particular place before.
Never felt the way he felt right now.
CHAPTER SEVEN
WHEN a hand settled hotly between her legs, Shara felt a rush of heat that shook her to the very foundations of her being. Clutching at Royce’s powerful back with claw-like fingers, she gasped as his fingers delicately probed the centre of her heat, his lingering caress driving her wild with anticipation. When his hand danced a rhythmic tattoo on the nub of her desire Shara felt as if she was about to shatter into a million pieces.
As if realising how close she was to coming, Royce used his free hand to caress her slowly, as though trying to soothe the flames his other hand had ignited.
It didn’t help.
She was beyond help.
She couldn’t take much more. She was at the very brink of a throbbing abyss. Royce kept her on the very edge, as if he enjoyed torturing her.
His fingers left her and were replaced by the probing hardness of his erection. Shara circled his waist with her legs, hooking her ankles together to hold him captive against her. She rotated her hips, urging him to enter her and end the suspense, the torture.
As she moved against him Royce moaned, but still he didn’t give her what she so desperately wanted.
Lifting her head, Shara nipped at his bottom lip with her teeth.
‘Now. Please now,’ she begged brokenly.
As if her plea was exactly what he’d been waiting for, Royce thrust inside her.
They moaned in unison.
For several long moments neither of them moved. Shara could have stayed that way for ever, enjoying the silken hardness of him filling and stretching her.
And then there was no more thought as Royce started to move within her, a slow rhythm at first, then faster. Shara moved with him, matching thrust for nerve-quivering thrust, tightening her legs around his waist and pulling him deeper and deeper.
The tension built, spiralled, and threw her sky-high.
In the next instant the world exploded into a mass of sheer sensation. A pulsating throb started deep in her womb and extended o
utwards until every bit of her was consumed by it. Her internal muscles clenched around him, her fingers clawing at his back.
Royce gave one final thrust, finding his own release with a muttered cry.
Shara’s limbs felt heavy and molten. Royce shuddered against her.
The wild beat of his heart matched the hammer of hers.
What they had just shared had been the most incredible experience of her life.
But as her heartbeat slowly returned to normal Shara plummeted back to earth with a bang.
Her mind was filled with visions of what had just happened.
Of hands and mouths, touching and tasting.
Everywhere.
She wished the memories would disappear, but they were indelibly imprinted on her memory banks.
Even in the good times with Steve sex had never been so intense or exciting. The passion that had sheared through her with Royce had turned her inside out.
The fact that it had been so intense disturbed her.
A frisson of …
Of what …?
Anxiety? Panic?
She wasn’t sure what.
A frisson of something rippled through her like a gust of cold wind.
‘I can’t do this,’ she said, pushing against Royce’s shoulders. ‘I’m sorry. I just can’t do this.’
Royce heeded her urging and rolled on to his back.
Shara scrambled to her feet and snatched up her clothes. Hugging them to her chest, she glanced at Royce to see if he was watching her.
He wasn’t.
His eyes were closed.
Quickly she pulled on her clothes to cover her nakedness.
When she was done she remained standing where she was, not sure what to do. She wanted to run out of the room and go somewhere. Anywhere. As long as it was away from Royce.
But that smacked of running away. Given her resolve to stand up for herself, she didn’t particularly want to take the cowardly way out.
Her eyes roamed his naked figure. She wished the action left her immune but was very much aware that it didn’t.
When she got to his face she was disconcerted to find that his eyes were open and he was watching her. Embarrassed heat flooded her cheeks and made the tips of her ears burn.
He moved to get up.
Shara turned her back on him.
She heard the rustle of clothing. She imagined him putting on his trousers and shirt. Imagined the ripple of muscle and the scent of warm male skin as he did so.
